As professional wrestling fans know, event cards are subject to change. According to a new report, that sentiment rang especially true for the planning behind WWE WrestleMania 42.The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the agenda surrounding the Undisputed WWE Championship and WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches for WrestleMania 42 were changed twice in recent months. Originally, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk were penciled in for these title bouts, given that they are internally viewed as the four biggest stars of WWE. Rollins, then the World Heavyweight Champion, was specifically said to be lined up for a title defense against Reigns at "The Show of Shows," while Rhodes would put the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against Punk, the winner of the 2026 Men's Elimination Chamber.Rollins and Reigns, of course, have no shortage of history as both ascended to WWE's main roster as members of The Shield before the former famously turned on Reigns and Dean Ambrose in 2014. Last year, Reigns and Rollins met again in a triple-threat match also involving CM Punk at WrestleMania 41, which resulted in "The Oracle"Paul Heyman aligning with Rollins after turning on "The Tribal Chief" and "The Second City Saint." Rhodes and Punk have repeatedly teased a babyface vs. babyface match between themselves since the latter returned to WWE in 2023. Had WWE kept that bout on the table for WrestleMania 42, it would have officially brought it to life.
Changes to the aforementioned plans reportedly arose after Rollins sustained a shoulder injury at WWE Crown Jewel, then relinquished the World Heavyweight Championship. From that point, WON notes that WWE pivoted to a multi-step feud between Punk and Bron Breakker that would culminate at WrestleMania 42. This led to Punk claiming the vacant World Heavyweight Championship and successfully defending it against Breakker on "WWE Raw," with Breakker then being the white board winner of the Men's Royal Rumble in order to set up a rematch on the grand stage.Elsewhere, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was said to be shifting to his third WrestleMania program with Roman Reigns something WWE seemingly teased by Reigns walking away from Rhodes following their WarGames loss. Just 48 hours before Rhodes defended his title against Drew McIntyre in a Three Stages of Hell match on "WWE SmackDown," however, WWE reportedly altered plans once again, partially thanks to McIntyre and Rhodes mutually pushing for a pre-WrestleMania title change. Additionally, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque felt that running Rhodes vs. Reigns for a third time may cause fatigue amongst fans, whereas a title change would give them and Rhodes a fresh slate on the road to WrestleMania.Following McIntyre's Undisputed WWE Championship win on the January 9 edition of "SmackDown," WON indicates that Breakker's scheduled Royal Rumble win was scrapped in favor of Reigns or Rhodes instead. Ultimately, WWE officials landed on Reigns as the victor in order to quickly set him up to take on Punk for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on "The Grandest Stage of Them All."Meanwhile, WWE reportedly sees value in Rhodes chasing a rematch against McIntyre for a little bit longer, potentially with the Elimination Chamber finally solidifying it. As of this writing, WON notes that McIntyre will defend his title against "The American Nightmare" at WrestleMania, though the possibility of adding Jacob Fatu into the match as well hasn't been ruled out.As for Breakker, he will reportedly face Rollins there in the event that "The Visionary" is cleared for in-ring competition in time.
